Kevin Johnson Announces Sacramento Deal with New Arena for Kings

According to the latest reports from Sacramento Major Kevin Johnson, a new arena deal has reportedly been agreed upon, which would mean the Kings no longer have to move—something that will no doubt come as great news for Kings fans.

“I’m pleased to announce an agreement with [the] Burkle-Mastrov-Ranadive group on a public-private partnership to build a new [entertainment and sports complex] at [the] Downtown Plaza Mall,” Johnson wrote on Twitter.

“Consistent w/our core tenets, the deal avoids new taxes, protects the City on the Kings loan, and ensures no net impact to the general fund.”

Johnson added that the investment group, which includes 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov, billionaire Ron Burkle and TIBCO chairman Vivek Ranadive will “make a 35-year commitment to keep the Sacramento Kings right here where they belong!

The Sacramento Bee added further specifics about the $448 million deal, with the city set to contribute $258 million towards the deal. That will likely be in the form of "bonding against its downtown parking garage future revenues, and by selling several downtown parcels to developers".

The other $190 million will come from the development team (Ron Burkle, 24 Hour Fitness' Mark Mastrov and entrepreneur Vivek Ranadive).

The Kings have sold out 19 of their past 27 seasons in Sacramento, which, given their lack of on-court success, is a testament to the support the franchise has. They also own two of the longest sellout streaks in NBA history (per the Los Angeles Times)—something that could very well continue with a new deal.

The deal still needs at least two more key components to fall into place before it is official, as city council and the Maloof family (which owns the Kings) must respectively sign off on the deal. Yet neither of those are expected to take too long, with the Maloof family likely to be keen on wrapping up the deal—much like it was when the original relocation to Seattle was discussed.